At this writing, Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) is an emerging medium for providing essentially on-demand content that is delivered to a television via broadband Internet connection. Content from the Internet has traditionally been delivered to a computer for consumption by the viewer. Although several mechanisms have been provided in the past that essentially utilize the television as a computer display, those mechanisms use more or less conventional browser technology to browse the Internet for content. In such devices and services (e.g., WebTV™), the television set itself functions simply as an elaborate display device that may only coincidentally use the television receiver, per se. In essence, the television's conventional controls are largely overridden by a computer that is connected to the Internet, and the television is relegated to the role of a simple display.
In IPTV, the television set (e.g., such as Sony Corporation's Bravia™ television line with Bravia Internet Video Link—BIVL™) has an adapter that is either integral or interfaced to the television that provides Internet connectivity, but the television set remains a passive viewing device with relatively simple controls available. The Internet adapter provides access to the Internet and provides a guide mechanism that permits the user to select video from the guide. Generally, there may be no keyboard or mouse or touchpad per se and the video experience resembles that of more or less conventional television video except that the video is largely on-demand video and is delivered via the Internet rather than by a cable, satellite or on-air broadcaster. This is a familiar television control mechanism that differs from the control exercised in a computer environment wherein the Internet is browsed by use of browser software.